Kilimanjaro Initiative Steps Up Efforts for African Women Farmers’ Land Rights

Rural women farmers from 22 countries meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, urged African nations to collect official data on women’s ownership of farmland. The gathering marks the tenth anniversary of the Kilimanjaro Initiative, launched in October 2016 to advocate for women’s land rights. Eva Mageni Daudi, chairperson of the African Kilimanjaro Rural Women Farmers Forum, and Anna Sangai of the Tanzania Gender Network Programme said reliable data on women’s land ownership is lacking. Janet Edeme of the African Union Commission said women’s ability to own and control land is vital to the continent’s food security.